The present invention relates to a device for the application of lubricant onto the running surface of rails of rail vehicles.
Nothing in the following discussion of the state of the art is to be construed as an admission of prior art.
Screeching noises and accompanying wearing and/or fluting of a rail are encountered, when slippage of the running wheels of the rigid axle of the rail vehicle is caused in particular, when the rail vehicle negotiates a curved track. To address this problem, one approach suggests to force lubricant from below via angled bores through the rail up to the railhead from where the running wheels of the rail vehicles are able to sweep up lubricate and distribute it across the railhead. This approach causes, however, a weakening in the static of the railhead and has thus been rejected by operators of railroad networks. Another approach involves the application of lubricant by means of a lubricant dispensing nozzle which is placed on a side of the railhead. A pump forces lubricant from a storage container from the side to the railhead upwards far enough to allow the running wheel of the rail vehicle to sweep up the lubricant and to distribute it across the running surface of the railhead. This approach has the drawback that the lubricant amount is not easy to meter, so that loss and environmental stress is experienced, on one hand, and the application of excessive amounts of lubricant cannot be avoided, on the other hand, resulting in a decrease in traction and thus also in the gripping ability during braking. Further, the buildup of the lubricant bead at the site of application is dependent on the viscosity of the lubricant. The viscosity of the lubricant, in turn, is dependent on the lubricant temperature as well as the rail temperature so that lubricant may escape to the side before the running wheel is able to sweep it up, when the temperatures are elevated and thus the viscosities are lower.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved lubricant application device which obviates prior art shortcomings and which dispenses lubricant in controlled doses to substantially prevent lubricant loss and resultant damage to the environment, and in particular to prevent a decrease in the grip of the wheels on the rail running surface.